The present invention relates to the new and distinct hosta plant, Hosta ‘Angel Falls’ discovered by Hans A. Hansen on spring of 2010 in a greenhouse at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The plant was found as an un-induced whole plant mutation of the Hosta cultivar ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented). ‘Angel Falls’ can best be described as a reverse color pattern mutation from ‘Bridal Falls’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,594 where the leaf variegation has switched positions.
The most similar known hosta cultivars are: ‘American Hero’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,587, ‘Bridal Falls’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,594, ‘Cyclone’ (not patented), ‘Greenhead Center Court’ (not patented), ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented), ‘Satin Doll’ (not patented), ‘The Queen’ (not patented), and ‘Guardian Angel’ (not patented).
Compared to the sport parent, Hosta ‘Niagara Falls’, the new plant, is smaller in habit and has leaves with that emerge with creamy yellow centers that develop to a creamy white to near white and sinuate or undulate margins of dark green margins. The flower scape generally greyed-yellow colored on the new plant rather than olive green. Compared to ‘American Hero’ the new plant has more arching foliage with stronger sinuate to undulate leaf margins. ‘Satin Doll’ has similar shaped foliage, but the margin is not as sinuate to undulate as in ‘Angel Falls’. Compared to ‘Guardian Angel’ the new plant has foliage that is more sinuate to undulate, and the center leaf color of ‘Guardian Angel’ is viridescent rather than albescent. ‘Cyclone’ is a smaller plant, has smaller leaves with leaf centers that are more white in the spring, and without the arching habit and lacks the sinuate to undulate margin. The new plant is larger in both height and width than ‘Greenhead Center Court’ and also has a more cordate leaf base and more sinuate to undulate margin. ‘The Queen’ is smaller in habit, has flowers that are deeper lavender, stiffer more upright foliage and less sinuate to undulate margins.
No plants of Hosta ‘Angel Falls’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made prior to the filing of this application with the except that which was disclosed within one year of the filing of this application and was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.
‘Angel Falls’ has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype.
The new plant has been successfully propagated by division of the rhizome at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA and also by tissue culture methods and found to produce identical plants that maintain the unique characteristics of the original plant. The plant is stable and reproduces identical, true to type individuals in successive generations of asexual reproduction.